Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Granola Bars



I had been pondering making some kind of granola bars for awhile when I saw a version of these on Coconut and Lime. I am a sucker for anything with sweetened condensed milk, so even though they probably aren't particularly "healthful", I couldn't help trying them. I swapped around a few ingredients, but kept the ratios the same. The only problem I had was the size of pan - I used a 9x9 (I didn't have the recommended size), which made the bars too thick. They ended up overdone on the outside, and underdone inside, even though they are baked at just 250 degrees. Next time I might double the recipe, and then use one of my large rimmed baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Even though these need some tweaking (or at least a new pan), they were still a success - slightly caramely, chewy, and not as sweet as you would think.

- 2 1/3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup roasted and salted pistachios
- 3/4 cup dried tart cherries
- 3/4 cup toasted coconut (I only had sweetened and didn't want to make a trip to the store, but I will use unsweetened next time)

In a large saucepan heat the sweetened condensed milk over med-low heat. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, then spread into a greased pan. Bake for 250 degrees for 65-70 minutes.

In other news...I went to a basketball game last night! I had never been to one before, and it was actually way more fun than I ever would have expected. The Sonics were playing the Lakers, and they had to go into overtime, so the crowd was in quite a frenzy. I now understand all the fuss about Kobe Bryant, but the entire game was almost as mindblowing as he was - like watching figure skating or gymnastics in the Olympics - it is hard to believe what you are seeing.
And the cheerleaders (oops...I mean, "dance team"), while still icky, weren't nearly as disturbing as I would have thought, based on this, and they also had boy cheerleaders! ("Boom Squad").

13 comments:

Rachel said...

I am glad you tried them! The pan size is pretty important to the recipe. I bet if you made them again in the correct sized pan, they'd turn out just fine.

Gigi said...

I recently started making my own granola. I think I might start making my own granola bars as well. Especially after seeing how good yours look!

Peabody said...

My firnd was at the Sonics game. Said it was good right up until they lost.
Homemade granola is awesome.

Patricia Scarpin said...

They look wonderful, Mallow!
I love sweetened condensed milk, too - it's just not good for my waistline, you know. :)

Anonymous said...

Yum.
I wrote two different comments with more to say, but blogger and wordpress seem to be having a fight and I can't mediate well enough. I'm trying this again.

Emily said...

Wow, a basketball game sounds fun! I've never been to one like that. Just high school bb games, when my older sister was a cheerleader. *shudder* I'm anti-cheerleader.

I love granola bars. I don't think I've ever made actual bars, though. They look good.

Katy said...

that list of ingredients is excellent. i love sweetened condensed milk too!

Cynthia said...

wYour bars should be marketed!

Anonymous said...

I love homemade granola bars. They blow the commercially produced variety out of the water!



Ari (Baking and Books)

eatme_delicious said...

Ooo yummy I have been on the lookout for good granola bar recipes and yes condensed milk is not the healthiest but it sounds so good!! Looks great too.

Cakespy said...

Love your inspiration, and love your version...watch out I'm coming over to eat anything left! :-)

Brilynn said...

I remember seeing this recipe too and thinking I definitely needed to make it. I ended up making granola instead and devoured it in no time. I still need to give these bars a try.

Anonymous said...

the Boom Squad are b-boys! OMG you NEED to see "Planet B-Boy"... it is showing at the Varsity thru tonight, then maybe at Metro, or you can come watch it on our projector when we can netflix it!
http://www.planetbboy.com/